Trade Deficit Climbs 25% to $25bn Over Eight Months

Pakistan Export – (Web Desk) – Pakistan’s merchandise trade deficit jumped 25% compared to last year, reaching $25 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, as imports continued to far outpace exports.

Official data released on Monday highlights growing pressure on the country’s external account, signaling potential stress on its balance of payments, The News reported.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, imports between July and February FY26 rose 8.1% to $45.5 billion, while exports fell 7.3% to $20.46 billion, leaving the import bill more than double the value of goods sold abroad.

The trade gap continued to widen in February 2026, with the monthly deficit increasing 4.6% year-on-year to $2.98 billion. Exports fell 8.76% to $2.27 billion, while imports decreased slightly by 1.6% to $5.25 billion.

Compared to January, the monthly slowdown was sharper—exports dropped 25.6% from $3.05 billion, and imports fell 9.5% from $5.8 billion.

The services sector offered limited relief. The services trade deficit widened 14% to $2.07bn in July-January FY26, compared with $1.82bn a year earlier, even as exports rose 18.78% to $5.66bn. Services imports climbed 17.5% to $7.7bn over the same period.

In January alone, the services deficit grew 5.1% year-on-year to $304.8 million. Services exports jumped 31% to $885m, but imports outpaced at $1.189bn, up 23.3%.

In the last fiscal year (FY25), the services trade deficit had narrowed 15.8% to $2.62bn, driven by a 9.2% rise in services exports to $8.4bn, compared with a modest 2% increase in imports to $11bn.

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Economists say the expanding goods deficit, driven by subdued export momentum and resilient import demand, could strain foreign exchange reserves and keep pressure on the rupee unless export competitiveness improves or import compression deepens.